Scatophagidae, the scats are a small

family Family (from la, familia) is a group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of the family is to maintain the well-being of its members and of society. Idea ...

ray-finned fish Actinopterygii (; ), members of which are known as ray-finned fishes, is a class of bony fish. They comprise over 50% of living vertebrate species. The ray-finned fishes are so called because their fins are webs of skin supported by bony or h ...

es in the order

Perciformes Perciformes (), also called the Percomorpha or Acanthopteri, is an order or superorder of ray-finned fish. If considered a single order, they are the most numerous order of vertebrates, containing about 41% of all bony fish. Perciformes means ...

. They are found in the Indo-Pacific region but one species has been introduced elsewhere.

Taxonomy

Scatophagidae was first formally described as a family in 1883 by the American ichthyologist Theodore Nicholas Gill. They are classified in the superfamily Siganiodea, along with the

rabbitfish Rabbitfishes or spinefoots are perciform fishes in the family Siganidae. The 29 species are in a single genus, ''Siganus''. In some now obsolete classifications, the species having prominent face stripes—colloquially called foxfaces– ...

es of the family Siganidae, within the suborder

Percoidei Percoidei is one of 3 suborders of bony fishes in the order Perciformes. Many commercially harvested fish species are considered to be contained in this suborder, including the snappers, groupers, basses, goatfishes and perches. Divisions The ...

in the 5th edition of '' Fishes of the World''. Other workers have classified them with the surgeonfishes in the order Acanthuriformes or as ''

incertae sedis ' () or ''problematica'' is a term used for a taxonomic group where its broader relationships are unknown or undefined. Alternatively, such groups are frequently referred to as "enigmatic taxa". In the system of open nomenclature, uncertain ...

'' within the series Eupercaria. The name of the family comes from its

type genus In biological taxonomy, the type genus is the genus which defines a biological family and the root of the family name. Zoological nomenclature According to the International Code of Zoological Nomenclature, "The name-bearing type of a nominal ...

''Scatophagus'' and this is a compound of ''skatos'' meaning "dung" and ''phaga'' which means to eat, a reference to this species purported taste for human faeces.

Genera

There are two genera classified within the Scatophagidae, each containing two extant species: * '' Scatophagus'' Cuvier, 1831 * '' Selenotoca'' Myers, 1936 Scatophagus frontalis

Characteristics

Scatophagidae fishes, the scats, have highly compressed, oblong bodies. The dorsal profile of the head rises steeply to the nape, they have a rounded snout, as is the space between the eyes. The small mouth is horizontal, and cannot be protruded, and has several rows of small bristle like teeth on the jaws teeth in several rows. There are no teeth on the roof of the mouth. The

dorsal fin A dorsal fin is a fin located on the back of most marine and freshwater vertebrates within various taxa of the animal kingdom. Many species of animals possessing dorsal fins are not particularly closely related to each other, though through c ...

have 11-12 robust spines and 16-18 soft rays, the first spine lies flat and there is a deep incision between the spiny and soft rayed parts of the fin. The anal fin has 4 robust spines and 13-16 soft rays and the relatively small

pectoral fin Fins are distinctive anatomical features composed of bony spines or rays protruding from the body of a fish. They are covered with skin and joined together either in a webbed fashion, as seen in most bony fish, or similar to a flipper, as ...

s have 16-17 rays. The

caudal fin Fins are distinctive anatomical features composed of bony spines or rays protruding from the body of a fish. They are covered with skin and joined together either in a webbed fashion, as seen in most bony fish, or similar to a flipper, as ...

may be truncate or weakly emarginate. although it is rounded in juveniles. The head and the body are covered with tiny

ctenoid A fish scale is a small rigid plate that grows out of the skin of a fish. The skin of most jawed fishes is covered with these protective scales, which can also provide effective camouflage through the use of reflection and colouration, as ...

scales and these reach the soft rayed parts of the dorsal and anal fins. There are no spines or serrations on the opercular bones. They are silvery or greenish in colour marked with darker spots or bars. The scats vary in maximum

total length Fish measurement is the measuring of individual fish and various parts of their anatomies. These data are used in many areas of ichthyology, including taxonomy and fisheries biology. Overall length * Standard length (SL) is the length of a fish ...

from for '' Selenotoca papuensis'' up to for '' Selenotoca multifasciata''.

Distribution and habitat

Scatophagidae is native to the Indian and Pacific Oceans from the eastern coast of Africa into the western Pacific. The spotted scat (''Scatophagus argus'') has been introduced to Malta, where it has become established, and it has been recorded from Florida. Scats are found in harbours, brackish estuaries, and the lower reaches of freshwater streams.

Biology

Scatophagidae fishes normally occur in schools and they feed during the day on a variety of benthic invertebrates, bottom detritus, algae and refuse.

Utilisation

Scatophagidae fishes are too small to be of interest to commercial fisheries as food, they are caught using gill nets and fish traps. They appear in the aquarium trade.

References

* * {{Taxonbar, from=Q585021 Perciformes families Extant Eocene first appearances